-
8/8/2019 Britain Section 3
1/4
Britain Section 3
o The British Constitution
Lacks a formal written constitution (there is no single document
called the
constitution)
Statutory law, common law, convention and authoritative
interpretation
y Acts of Parliament
o Parliament and the crown
o Rights of the state and citizen
o Relationship of constituent nations
o UK in the EU
Bill of Rights of 1689: defined relationship between Parliament
and Crown
No system of checks and balances
y Organization of the State
o Westminister model: British government today
o Parliamentary sovereignty: parliament can make and overturn
any law (this power is
absolute), nothing can overrule Parliament
o Parliamentary democracy: prime minister is answerable to the
HOC and can be dismissed
by it (also known as the vote of no confidence, has only been
used twice)
o European Communities Act: passed in 1972 which acknowledged
the fact that the
European Union laws has power in the UK without requiring
parliamentary consent, and
that the European Court of Justice has the power to resolve
jurisdictional disputes (ECJ
has suspended acts of Parliament before)
o Unitary state: there is no power given to divisions within the
UK (so theres nothing like
state powers in the UK), the UK is decided as one unit
o Quasi-federal System:created under Tony Blair, legislative
bodies in Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland have been given specific powers
o Fusion of powers: Parliament is the supreme legislative,
executive and judicial authority
(absolute power)
y The Executive
o Cabinet Government
Key functions
y Policy-making
y Supreme control of government
-
8/8/2019 Britain Section 3
2/4
y Coordination of government
Crown invites leader of majority party to form a government
y Leader chooses ministers
o Foreign Office
o Home office
o Chancellor of the Exchequer
Ministers
y Cabinet
o forms policy which will be placed before parliament
o Controlling and directing body for executive branch
y Required to be MPs
y PM must get support of the majority for the cabinet for many
decisions
(budget and legislation)
Checking the PM
y Vote of no confidence is rarely used
y Usually the cabinets role
o Very weak, there are no checks and balances
Collective responsibility
y Scope has been narrowed (Blair, Thatcher)
y PM, a few ministers, and advisors make decisions in small
meetings
Tony Blair
y Power to declare war had been handed over to Parliament
y Effectiveness and centrality of cabinet and cabinet committees
is
questionable
Support for the cabinet
y Cabinet committees (ministers)
y Official committees(civil servants)
y The Treasury: budget control
y Whips (leaders in the HOC and HOL): smooth passage of
legislation
o Bureaucracy and Civil Service
Permanent secretary
y Senior civil servant
o Chief administrator
-
8/8/2019 Britain Section 3
3/4
o Very large department
y Other roles
o Deputy secretaries and undersecretaries (assist PS)
o Principal private secretary (assists a minster as liaison with
senior
civil servants)
Civil servants: servants to the Crown, but NOT part of
government
y Have operational duties
y Conceptualize and refine legistlation
y Operational duties
y Been downsized and given a new corporate structure
y Impartiality is eroded
o Public and Semipublic Institutions
Nationalized Industries
y Basic industries: coal, iron, steel, gas and electricity
supply
y Will not be returned to public ownership of industry
Nondepartmental Public Bodies
y Quangos/Nondepartmental public bodies: combination of
government
and private sector
o Government provides funding, fuction and appointment of
staff,
but ministers are not directly involvedo Controversial areas of
policies are avoided
y Other State Institutions
o The Military and Police
The military is still a global presence
y 1982: Britain wins the Falkland/Malvinas Islands from
Argentina
y 1991: Britain participates in the Gulf War
y 1998: Aerial bombardment of Iraq with the US
y 1999: the Kosovo campaign
y 2003: Iraq War
Role of military is not really a controversy
The police as independent force
y 1980s: growth in government control, centralization, and level
of
political use
-
8/8/2019 Britain Section 3
4/4
y 1984-1985: unprecedented use of national force
y 1990s: concerns about police conduct arise
o The Judiciary
Limited judicial role
Courts can only determine whether policy or administrative acts
violate common
law or an act of Parliament
y Has no power to judge constitutionality
Criticisms
y Jurists used for partisan ends
y Deflect criticism
Parliament is bound by the European Court of Justice
y Sex Discrimination Act of 1986
y Human Rights Act of 1988
o Subnational Government
Distinct nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland)
National Government
Local Government
y No constitutionally reserved powers
y Have autonomy in finance and implementing social services and
related
policies
y 1973: Government sets first fiscal check on local
governments
y 1986: Thatcher abolishes several city councils introduces poll
tax to
substitute property tax
y The Policy-Making Process
o Policy-making emerges in the executive
o Influenced by policy communities (informal networks with
extensive knowledge, access
and personal connections to those responsible for policy)
Network of civil servants, ministers, policy communities work
together through
informal ties
o Method has been challenged by giving more power to the EU
More time spend on EU policy deliberations
Constrained by the EU agenda and directives
